Ageing in Medieval Jewish Culture

Elisha Russ-Fishbane is Associate Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, and the author of Judaism, Sufism, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt (2015), which was awarded the Salo Wittmayer Baron Book Prize for best first book in Jewish Studies by the American Academy for Jewish Research.

• IntroductionI. Conceptions and Perceptions of Ageing1. How Old Is Old?2. Longevity and Its Limits 3. Ageing Body, Ageing Mind II. Ageing in Family and Community 4. Grandparents and the Multigenerational Home5. Family Networks of Care 6. Community SupportIII. Ideas and Ideals of Old Age7. The Dignity of Age 8. Facing Mortality: Towards a Hebrew Poetics of Ageing 9. The Sabbath of Life: Age and Wisdom in Medieval Jewish ThoughtAppendix: Life Expectancy and Medieval Mediterranean JewryAfterword: On an Integrative Approach to the Study of Old AgeBibliographyIndex

‘Why read this book? Ageing is part of the human experience and most of us have or will have to deal with it directly or indirectly or most probably---both. If it is inescapable, it probably should be understood. Russ-Fishbane’s study of medieval Jewish outlooks on aging is a very good place to start. There are many reasons to enjoy this book. His synthesis of disparate material is creative and generates fascinating new perspectives, as does his melding of historical approaches and literary perspectives. The work is clearly constructed and coherent. It should be essential reading for anyone working in medieval Jewish history and in social history, while the broad perspective should make it no less useful for individuals studying other cultures and even their own.’Shaul Stampfer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem